Producing of Diabetic Dietary Masghati Sweet Containing Spirulina platensis by Replacing Sucrose with Stevioside-Isomalt and Wheat Starch with Corn Starch

In recent years, the demand for diet foods with high nutritional value has significantly increased. Masghati is one of the traditional sweets of Iran, which due to its high amount of sucrose and calories, its consumption is limited for people with obesity and diabetes. Food fortification is an important tool to prevent certain nutritional deficiencies and prevent chronic diseases. Stevioside is approximately 300 times sweeter than sucrose and exhibit broad health-promoting, anti-oxidative, and antimicrobial properties. Isomalt is the only sugar substitute made exclusively from sucrose. Potential health benefits of filamentous cyanobacterium, i.e., Spirulina platensis is mainly due to its chemical composition, which includes proteins, carbohydrates, essential amino acids, minerals (especially iron), essential fatty acids, vitamins, and pigments. Corn starch has a high thickening power and is required in many pastes containing high solids with the ability to form soft gels. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of sucrose substitution with stevioside-isomalt, wheat starch with corn starch and the use of Spirulina platensis algae as a functional compound on the physicochemical, textural and sensory properties of diabetic dietary Masghati sweet.

The Spirulina platensis at five levels (0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75 and 1%), sucrose replacement with stevioside-isomalt at five levels (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%) and replacement of wheat starch with corn starch was tested at five levels (0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%). For obtaining the optimal formulas, 19 experiments proposed by Design Expert software, the central composite design (CCD) by response surface methodology (RSM) with one repetition in axial and factorial points and five central points with alpha two.

Increase in the stevioside-isomalt replacement with sucrose resulted in decreasing the hardness and increasing the b* and browning index. The hardness and springiness, with increasing wheat starch replacement with corn starch, increased and decreased, respectively. The increase in Spirulina content resulted in a decrease in the b* value and browning index. The interaction effect of increase in replacing sucrose with stevioside-isomalt and wheat starch with corn starch caused an increase in gumminess, a* value and browning index of the samples. The interaction effect of increase in replacing sucrose with stevioside-isomalt and Spirulina addition caused an increase in adhesiveness, springiness and chewiness of the samples. Although, the interaction effect of increase in replacing wheat starch with corn starch and Spirulina addition caused a decrease in a* value.

Two optimal formulas of diabetic dietary Masghati sweet, i.e., the optimal formula-1 (59% stevioside-isomalt replacement with sucrose, 87% wheat starch replacement with corn starch and 0.83% Spirulina platensis addition) and the optimal formula-2 (69% stevioside-isomalt replacement with sucrose, 19% wheat starch replacement with corn starch and 0.15% Spirulina platensis addition) were suggested.